Dark Land of the Renegades
by Kelly of the midnight dawn
Summary: It's not all sunshine and rainbows for Rose and the Doctor. In the Void dark forces are planning on finishing what the Admiral started. But before they can do that, they must destroy the one thing that stands in their way, the Doctor and his companions.
1. Chapter 1:Eternal Grime of a Broken Mind

**Dark Land of the Renegades**

**Chapter 1: Eternal Grime of a Broken Mind**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its character. I do however claim ownership of The Admiral, The Eminence, The Warlord, The Absolute (Most times just referred to as Absolute) and Essence. I am not making any profit off of this story. It has been written for purely entertainment purposes.**

**A/N: Well my dear readers, here it is, the sequel to "Who Are You? Who Am I?" The chapters for this will be a little longer but hopefully not too much longer. I am a sucker for Doctor/Rose fluff and I'm afraid that they may not be able to keep their hands/lips off one another, though some questions I received about Rose's lack of a mourning period for John will be answered. The first few chapters are going to be a build up to something big. I hope you all enjoy it. As always, please review so that my muse will not lose hope or run off to find a source of sustenance elsewhere. The site has finally been fixed and I can post this as it's own story. Unfortunately I must now beg double time for those of you who reviewed the first time to now review again. Also, it give me a chance to read this thing over and try to make it better.**

"Tear in the fabric of space time detected ma'am," a woman, appearing to be in her late twenties to early thirties with long straight medium brown hair that reached the middle of her back and gray eyes, reported from her place at the control terminal.

"Is there any signal from the Admiral?" her commander, a woman who appeared to be in her mid thirties with straight black hair down to her shoulders and intensely piercing green eyes, asked.

"No," the first woman reported "Perhaps there was a problem?"

"Head for the crack," the other woman commanded "This is the best chance we've had in four hundred years for freedom and I'm not going to pass it up."

The woman at the controls nodded solemnly. She too would give anything for freedom from the dimension they'd been trapped in. But the reality of ending up in the Void with no chance of escape troubled her deeply. Still, she dare not disregard her commander's orders. With great care, the woman navigated the ship towards the disruption in the fabric of the universe.

The massive craft, liberated by the current commander from a race of war prone people, with a weakness for the pleasures of the flesh, made its way through the crack and onto the other side. The woman at the terminal examined the readings "We're in the Void ma'am," she reported. Then something on the instruments in front of her caught her attention "This whole place is buzzing with energy…" she trailed off "It's… I think it's…" she looked up at her commander "Something definitely went wrong. The energy's been pouring into the Void."

"Deploy the power absorbers," the dark haired woman commanded "Let's try to keep as much of it from going to waste as we can." If they could capture enough energy they just might be able to make it out of the Void in one piece.

The woman at the controls did as she was told. She had to admit that she did miss her home universe. She'd been gone from Gallifrey for four hundred years and she missed it quite terribly. Her family had all probably forgotten about her by now though. Such was the fate of those who turned renegade. Her name would be forbidden to be spoken. But oh how she missed curling up with a book beneath one of the stunning silver leafed trees amongst the red grass of her home.

She was broken from her thoughts by a beeping from the terminal "We're receiving a message," she reported.

"Is it from the Admiral?" her commander questioned.

"I'm not sure," the woman replied "It's coming from another ship," she brought the message up on the screen.

The commander smiled widely, revealing stunningly white teeth "Eminence, it's been a while. I see you haven't needed to regenerate."

"Neither have you my darling Absolute," Eminence, a tall, muscular man, returned her smile "I see you found your way into the Void as well."

"Yes," Absolute replied as she leaned over the terminal that her subordinate was seated at "The crack we came through seems to have closed."

"As has my point of entry," Eminence replied "And I've found quite another surprise floating around this forsaken place. It seems the Admiral ran into a bit of trouble in his efforts to bring us all back together. He was sucked into the Void."

"Do you have him on board?" Absolute questioned.

"Yes," Eminence replied "He's currently regenerating. I see that as spacecraft go, you seem to be more well off. May I and my guest come aboard?"

"It would be our pleasure," Absolute replied. She turned to the other woman "Essence, guide The Eminences ship into one of the shuttle bays. Remain here and monitor the energy readings. I'll go welcome our long absent friends."

With that Absolute left the bridge of the ship and quickly made her way to the first shuttle bay.

XXX

The smell of apple grass filled the air as Rose rolled over on her side so that she was facing the Doctor. "It was a good idea to come here," she told him with a half smile.

"I was hoping you'd think so," he returned her smile. He'd been afraid that New Earth would bring back too many memories and that it would end up doing Rose more harm than good.

Rose nestled closer against him "What's on your mind?" she questioned knowingly.

He said nothing, just looked down at the top of her head before pressing his lips to her hair in a silent kiss. It was a few moments later that he finally did speak "It just seems too good to be true," he mused "You and me…"

She lifted her head so that her eyes met hers "It's real," she promised, kissing him firmly on the mouth.

He shied away from the kiss "Rose…" he began hesitantly.

She smiled sympathetically at him "I know," she replied, laying her head back down against his chest so that she could hear the beat of his two hearts "I just want you to remember, I never stopped loving you."

He nodded and kissed the top of her head once more. "I never stopped loving you either," he said softly "But, it's all so… complicated."

"It's not," Rose replied "I mean, not really… Okay, so maybe it's a little complicated but not when it comes to how I feel," she pulled back once more so she could look at him again "John was you but he was different as well and I loved him. But I never stopped loving you and," she tapped his forehead "Everything that was John is in there now too."

He smiled a bit as some of John's memories surfaced briefly, warm, conforting, pleasant memories of just being with Rose. John hadn't wanted to waste a moment of the time he had left with the woman he loved. The Doctor couldn't help but feel that having John's memories living on in his mind made him a little bolder. And still he hesitated. He'd lost Rose once before and he didn't want to lose her ever again. Yet losing her seemed inevitable.

"You know," Rose said after a long moment of silence "I believe I explained all of this to you before," she rolled fully on top of him and lay with her chin on his chest, staring at him.

"Yeah," he smiled sheepishly "I seem to remember something like that, right after I told you about having his memories."

"Why do you make me repeat myself?" Rose questioned in mock anger.

The Doctor shook his head "I'm not sure it's necessary for you to repeat yourself. If anyone understands what's going on, it's probably me," he chuckled "But maybe I just like to hear you say that you still love me."

Rose smiled and pushed herself a few inches forward so her lips met his "Definitely," she replied as she pulled away "And perhaps you should do some repeating of your own?" she suggested with a sly grin.

"I hate repeats Rose and I hate repeating myself," he told her in all seriousness.

"Well," Rose huffed and rolled off of him, lying on her stomach amidst the apple grass, her head pillowed on her folded arms as she pouted.

"What? What did I do?" the Doctor questioned, sitting up and looking down at Rose "Stop doing that," he referred to her pouting "Stop it… I can't stand it when you do that."

"It'll only take three little words to make me stop," she replied, jutting her lower lip out even further.

The Doctor chuckled as realization hit him. He gathered Rose into his arms "Only you could ever wear me down like this," he told her as she continued to pout at him, though it was becoming hard to keep the pout from turning into a smile the way he was looking at her.

He kissed her pouting lips "I love you," he told her "Do you want me to say it again?"

Rose grinned "I like hearing you say it," she replied.

"If you insist," the Doctor laid her down gently on the apple grass beneath him and began kissing her repeatedly "I love you, I love you, I love you," he said over and over again between kisses and in one case, into her open mouth as their tongues mingled.

Rose's mobile began ringing and she attempted to reach for it where it had fallen out of her pocket. The Doctor reached out and stayed her hand "Leave it," he told her before he kissed her again.

"It's probably Amy," Rose replied, attempting to push the Doctor off of her.

"She can wait," the Doctor replied, his lips coming down to claim her mouth once more.

"What if there's trouble?" Rose asked him in all seriousness.

"And what if there isn't?" he countered.

Rose burst into giggles "Get off of me you nutter," she swatted him in the chest and he rolled to the side.

"She'd better be about to be eaten by something," the Doctor muttered as Rose reached for the phone.

"Shut it," Rose tried to sound firm as she flipped the device open "Hello. Yeah, just… sight seeing… Oh that's good… Hold on, let me ask," she pulled the phone away from her ear and rolled onto her side to face the Doctor "Amy wants to know if we want to join her and Rory for lunch," she put a hand over his mouth before she continued "And just so you know, I'm starving so whatever you decide, I'm going."

The Doctor attempted to pull a pout similar to the one Rose had used on him earlier but she simply laughed at him. "Alright," he agreed finally.

XXX

"Eminence," Absolute flung herself into his arms upon seeing him exit his ship "It's been far too long."

The Eminence wrapped his arms around Absolute and lifted her off the ground "Indeed it has my dear, indeed it has." He set her back down on the deck and eyed her up and down "You look well. And how does our beloved leader the Warlord fair?"

Absolute's face fell "He's been dead these past fifty years," she informed him.

"How?" the Eminence asked disbelievingly.

"He attempted to enslave a civilization of weak minded fools," Absolute began "The worthless beings staged a revolt and he was stabbed through both hearts by a rather lucky young soldier who knew how to stop him."

"I assume the young soldier did not live to enjoy his victory," the Eminence said pointedly.

"I returned many years later," Absolute assured "At the time Essence and I were barely able to escape. But I assure you, he paid the price, he and his entire family," she smiled wickedly.

Eminence nodded in approval before turning back to his small ship "The Admiral is still regenerating. I would not advise moving him until he has finished."

"Agreed," Absolute nodded "Were you able to find out anything from him?"

"He was unconscious when I brought him onboard," the Eminence told her as he and the Absolute exited the shuttle bay "His mind was all a jumble from exposure to the Void and the energy that is currently bouncing around inside it."

"Essence is working to absorb as much of that energy as possible," Absolute informed him "I don't want to spend any more time in the Void than we need to."

"Agreed," the Eminence concurred before turning back to the subject of the Admiral "What little I was able to determine from his mind is cluttered and hard to interpret at best. There is a theme that binds his most recent experiences together, a single word, a name, one you and I are both familiar with."

"And what might that name be?" Absolute questioned.

The Eminence stopped in the hallway, putting a hand out to halt Absolute midstride "Do you recall that upstart who caused Gallifrey so many problems back in the day?" he laughed "Though in the end he stood with the rest of Gallifrey against us."

"There were many like that," Absolute recalled.

"This one was rather fond of humans and Earth culture," the Eminence continued "You probably don't remember him as well but the Warlord had asked the Admiral and I to keep an eye on him as a prospective member of our group."

Absolute shook her head "I'm still not sure whom you are referring to darling," she confessed.

"He calls himself the Doctor," the Eminence told her "And he seems to have played a roll in the bungling of the Admiral's plan to free us."

"Well," Absolute smirked "We shall just have to pay this Doctor a visit if we ever get out of this blasted place."

XXX

Rose and the Doctor walked along the streets of New New York, searching for Amy and Rory. It didn't take them long to find the couple. Amy was pushing a rather plain looking pram with a blue bonnet and Rory was carrying several bags.

Rose couldn't help but laugh as she reached out to try and alleviate Rory's burdon a bit "Are you sure you have enough baby stuff?" she asked.

"There were clothes to buy," Amy began "And toys and formula. There's one disadvantage to this situation is that I can't breast feed."

Rose smiled "Just think of the positives. You don't have to lose a whole mess of baby wait this way."

Amy smiled as there was a soft cry from inside the pram. Amy reached in and lifted the little ginger infant "Oh," she murmured "Rory, the little prince needs his nappy changed and guess whose turn it is?"

Rory reached into one of the bags that he was carrying and produced an unopened package of nappies "Let's find a changer," he suggested and the group moved off in search of someplace where Rory could change baby John's nappy without attracking too many wandering eyes.

It wasn't hard to locate a public restroom with a changing table. Not only that but it was a gentlemen's restroom with a changing table. Amy waited outside with Rose and the Doctor, marveling at how many different restroom signs there were.

"Just how many genders are there?" Amy asked, staring at the five different bathroom signs.

"It's mostly just male and female," the Doctor began "But then there are the multiforms and other beings that don't really identify with either gender. They're left to make the best choice between the other three," he surreptitiously indicated a two headed individual that appeared to have a male head and a female head.

"Don't stare," Rose whispered to Amy before the Doctor could notice her gawking.

It wasn't long after that that Rory reappeared with a freshly changed John cooing contentedly against his father's shoulder.

"Now, why explain to me again why we couldn't have gone baby shopping back on Earth?" he asked as he lay the infant back in the pram.

"What if you'd run into someone you knew?" the Doctor asked "How would you have explained suddenly having a baby who bears a remarkable resemblance to you both when Amy's still as thin as a rail?"

Rory seemed to think about that for a second "Still," he said finally.

"That and there are all of those little things that an infant needs for travel in outer space that you just can't find on good old twenty first century Earth," the Doctor continued. "Suppose the TARDIS decides to start jarring around like crazy? You're gonna be glad you've got those bassinette stabilizers so that little John here doesn't get woken up by the movement or heaven forbid tossed across the room."

Rory held his hands up in surrender "I yield to my wife's imaginary friend," he shot the Doctor a cheeky grin.

"Well come on you lot," Rose said finally "Let's get something to eat before John needs another nappy change."

XXX

The Admiral had completed his regeneration cycle but his mind had been permanently damaged by being exposed to the raw energy and to the Void itself. He lay on a bed in the ship's infirmary while the Eminence scavenged what remained of his mind for more information about the Doctor.

The Eminence growled in frustration as he pulled away. There was nothing in the Admiral's mind but flashes of things, jumbled up images. The Doctor, the Doctor, that was all he could get out of his comrade. It was useless. He stormed from the infirmary just as Essence slipped in.

The woman made her way to the Admiral's bedside. Absolute and the Eminence had not thought much of the newly regenerated Time Lord's comfort, having simply dumped him on the nearest bed. Essence set to work adjusting the pillow and grabbing the Admiral a blanket. She tucked it tightly around his shoulders.

She looked down into the Admira's new face before laying a hand on his forehead "It's good to see you," she murmured "I've spent too long with Absolute. I've seen too many horrible things…" she trailed off, not wanting to admit out loud that she was never cut out for this life.

The Admiral let out a low wheeze of a breath before he spoke. The words came out muffled and raspy but there was no mistaking them. Past his lips came two words that made no sense whatsoever to Essence though she knew she had not misheard "Bad Wolf."

**A/N: Well there you have it. Chapter one of "Dark Land of the Renegades". What did you think? We've met some new and well I hope you can call them interesting characters (since I created them and I am totally insecure about my ability to create characters). Once again, I must shamelessly beg for reviews. I will attempt to get rework the second chapter and get it up soon. I probably left a lot of spelling/grammatical mistakes in this chapter but nobodies perfect.**


	2. Chapter 2: Little Reminders

**Dark Land of the Renegades**

**Chapter 2: Little Reminders**

**A/N: So I've waited far too long to upload this considering I already had the document uploaded and all I really wanted to do was edit the author's notes. If my little mistakes still bother you, think of it as me leaving them in for posterity to mark my progress as a writer and hopefully there will be fewer and fewer mistakes by the time I get to chapter four and start posting new material.**

After the group had eaten lunch, Amy and Rory decided to take John back to the TARDIS to put him down for a proper nap, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Rose and the Doctor remained. Rose was keen on doing some window shopping and the Doctor felt that there was no harm in indulging her. Considering how hectic things had been the last time they'd visited New Earth, this peaceful rest bit was welcome.

Rose was perusing the shelves of a store that sold things created by artists both on New Earth and in the neighboring systems. She was surveying a shelf containing statuettes carved out of various rocks when it caught her eye. It sparkled gold in the ambient light of the shop and didn't seem to cast a shadow. She glanced at the attached card and fought not to gasp in case the noise alerted the Doctor that something was wrong. It was carved from a remnant of the Golden Moon of Ida, the very moon that had been destroyed when John had sacrificed himself.

It wasn't a carving of anything in particular, rather abstract, lots of intricate curves and swirls covering the five inch tall cylindrical piece. Rose found herself oddly drawn to it. She looked at the price and found that the money the Doctor had given her in case she wanted to by something was enough. The Doctor was busy examining some thing or another and didn't see her make her purchase.

In fact the Doctor didn't notice anything until she tugged on his arm "Ready to go?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded, noticing the bag in her hand "Found something you liked?" he questioned.

"Yeah," she nodded as the two of them headed back to the TARDIS.

The walk back to where he'd left the TARDIS was oddly silent as Rose was lost deep in thought. She'd explained it to herself and to the Doctor multiple times. She'd never stopped loving him and what was John was now inside the Doctor's mind. Still, she hadn't allowed herself any time to mourn after John's death.

It had been too easy just to start a new with the Doctor and she knew if she stopped to remember her lost love that she would never stop mourning him.

"You miss him," the Doctor said after a long time of Rose saying nothing.

"Of course I do," she whispered "But I want this," she gestured towards him "I want you. I miss him and I love you and…" tears sprang to her eyes "There was no body… I couldn't even give him a proper service…"

The Doctor enveloped her in his arms. As much as Rose tried to convince him that it wasn't complicated, it simply wasn't the truth "He was a brave man," he consoled her "And he would want you to be happy."

She sniffled "I know he would and I am," she managed a smile "I'm happy but there's a big empty hole where he used to be. I love you and I love being with you but…"

"We shouldn't take it so fast?" the Doctor suggested, remembering his amorous attitude earlier.

"We're not going too fast," Rose assured him quickly "Kissing is a good place to start. John and I, we…"

The Doctor nodded. John had shown no discretion in what memories he'd given the Doctor. Certain things were all to clear for his liking and he did wish he could experience them first hand. But for Rose, he was willing to wait. "Kissing's a good place to start," he agreed.

"Besides," Rose interlocked her fingers with his, allowing their hands to swing between them as they walked "There's a lot I want to learn about this new you," she smiled warmly "The man who was so kind to me when I didn't remember who I was."

"Well," the Doctor began "The new me is of the opinion that bowties are cool. And doesn't want to hear any opinions to the contrary," he added.

Rose grinned "So it's 'love me, love my bowtie' then is it?"

The Doctor stopped and thought about it for a moment before replying "I suppose so."

"Well then," Rose stopped walking and turned to face him squar on "I suppose I should make my feelings on the subject clear now before we go any further."

The Doctor let out a nervous laugh "Yeah," he murmured, suddenly very worried. What if she didn't like the bowtie? Would he have to give it up? Could he give it up? Even for Rose?

Rose closed the space between them "I think you look very sexy in a bowtie," she told him before continuing to walk on, tugging on his hand as she went.

The Doctor for his part was blushing furiously.

XXX

"The rest of the energy has dissipated," Absolute remarked sadly "We were barely able to capture any."

"Let me see," the Eminence leaned over and examined the readings "That just might be enough to tear a hole in the Void and get us back to the home universe."

"The home universe?" Absolute questioned "What if the Council comes after us again?"

Eminence laughed as he patted Absolute on the shoulder "My dear, there is no more Time Lord Council, there is no more Gallifrey."

"You've had some success with the Admiral's memories then?" Absolute inquired.

"Quite a bit actually," the Eminence replied "The only problem is that once we return to the home universe we will be stuck in whatever time we land in."

"Oh no we won't," Absolute smiled "Would you care to see my most recent brilliant feat of engineering, my Eminence."

The Eminence nodded and followed Absolute several decks down to the engines. Absolute removed a panel, revealing a dozen watch like devices wired into the engine.

"Vortex manipulators," the Eminence admired her handiwork "But how did you get your hands on so many?"

"Oh," said Absolute mischievously "I have my ways."

"I'm sure you do," the Eminence laughed, patting her on the back and smiling at her.

"They're all wired in and synced up," Absolute continued "They can take us to any time once we're on the other side. It's not as an effiecient system as a TARDIS, when we jump in time we'll remain in the same place relatively and the time jump can only happen once every thirty six hours, not to mention that it's a huge drain on the engines and we won't be able to move in relative space for ten minutes after the jump is made. But it will work for what we need it for."

"Let's begin the preparations to open a doorway back to our home universe," the Eminence grinned.

"At your command," Absolute smiled back at him before turning to leave. There were many calculations to be made and for that she would need Essence's help.

XXX

"What does it mean?" Essence was once again at the Admiral's bedside, attempting to understand the small bits of information that he would speak to her. She wouldn't dare invade his mind the way the Eminence had. That was a cruel way of extracting information and a desperate last restort to invade someone's mind. "Bad Wolf," she repeated his words from hours ago "Who or what is the Bad Wolf?"

The Admiral groaned and turned his face so that he was looking at her through half closed eyes. He moaned and managed to speak "She is the one… The one I must destroy…"

"What?" Essence asked, horrified.

"She is the sacrifice," the Admiral's face broke out into a manic grin "Her death will bring the Doctor to his knees…" he gasped for air and fell into unconsciousness.

Essence stared in horror at the unconscious mane. The Admiral's words spoke of revenge. She had hoped that the Admiral would be wiser after four hundred years but he was just like the rest of them. Ever since the Warlord's death, and soon after that, Essence's regeneration into her current body, she had begun to see things the way they really were.

"There you are," Absolute yelled as she entered the infirmary, pulling Essence into a standing position "I need your brain. We have some very complex calculations to perform."

"Why the rush?" Essence questioned as Absolute dragged her, rather roughly, down the corridor.

"We're going home," Absolute smiled at the younger Time Lady.

XXX

Rose had opted for some time to herself upon returning to the TARDIS. The Doctor was busying himself with instructing Rory on the proper installation of the stabilizers for the bassinette, apparently he had some experience in the area. Amy had called Rose's mobile once already to ask her to come out of her room and talk some sense into the man before the Doctor and Rory ended up in some sort of full blown argument over childcare. Amy had taken baby John to the library to read picture books to him and had asked Rose to join her. But Rose wanted to be alone.

She took her purchase from its bag and placed it on her bedside table. She stared at it for quite a while. She had to admit, she liked the way it caught the light and reflected it. She reached out a finger and traced the abstract curves. It was a truly beautiful artifact, even though it did bring back very painful memories.

John deserved to be mourned but at the same time she couldn't help being swept up in the Doctor's desire to be with her and her own desire to be with him. Things felt so right but deep down, no matter how she tried to justify her actions to herself or how she attempted to coax the Doctor out of his seemingly easily shaken reluctance, she felt just a bit as if she was betraying John.

A few moments later the sound of the TARDIS engines jarred her from her thoughts. She got up and headed to the console room to see the Doctor attempting to do three things at once with the console.

"Need any help?" she asked with a smile.

He shook his head "I've got this," he told her.

"Where are we going?" Rose questioned.

"It's a surprise," the Doctor told her, his face serious.

Rose was taken aback. Even in this new body of his when he had a surprise to show her, he was usually quite pleased with himself and grinning all over the place. She tried to shake it off as she took a seat.

The TARDIS set down and the Doctor turned to Rose. He extended a hand in her direction "Come on," he encouraged with a gentle smile.

"Shouldn't we get Amy and Rory first?" she asked.

"They and the baby are fast asleep," the Doctor informed her "This stop's just for you and me."

Rose was a bit confused by that but she accepted his hand nonetheless and walked with him to the TARDIS doors. When the doors opened she found herself on a rather quiet street. It was midday on whatever alien world this was. She could tell that it was an alien world because the sky was pink. In front of them there was a large and ornate building. It appeared to be a church or cathedral of some type. She turned to the Doctor, a silent question in her gaze.

He shrugged "We're here to pay our respects," he said simply.

"Pay our respects?" Rose questioned.

"To John," the Doctor clarified. He indicated the cathedral "The Cathedral of the Lost on the planet Heneva. It was built specifically for those who were lost in circumstances in which remains were not recovered. Far too many of those in this century…" he trailed off before he started to babble. This was a solemn occasion and he wasn't going to ruin it with too much talk about the invention of the disintegrator and the Obliteration class war vessels which turned could reduce the opponent to atoms.

Rose squeezed his hand as he led her into the building. They were greeted by a tall, thin, silver skinned woman dressed in a long purple robe. She smiled kindly at them "Hello," she beckoned the two in.

"Hello," the Doctor replied with a smile of his own. As they followed the woman the Doctor took the opertunity to whisper in Rose's ear "One of the sisters of the Heneva order of the Care Givers," he explained.

"How exactly does this work?" Rose questioned as the Sister led them to a small room and handed each of them a chandle.

"I'll be outside if you need me," the Sister told them before leaving the room.

"It's a sort of do it yourself service," the Doctor explained "Privacy. I thought that would be best. I can tell you it's definitely the thing he would have wanted," he concluded with a tap to the side of his head.

Rose took a deep breath "What do we do first?"

The Doctor picked up a lighter that lay on the small table in the middle of the room "First," he ignited the lighter "We light our candles in memory of our lost loved one." He proceded to light the candles, lighting Rose's first which sprang into life with a brilliant pink flame. Then he lit his own which burned green.

Rose stared at the flickering flame of her candle "Why do they burn different colors?" she questioned.

"They react to the person holding them," the Doctor replied as he picked up a writing implement that lay on the table and indicated a piece of paper "Next I write the name of the deceased on a slip of paper… John Smith…? Did he choose a middle name?"

Rose found herself grinning "Sebastian," she replied.

"John Sebastian Smith?" the Doctor's eyes seemed to light up "Unique and yet simple, brilliant and I'm not just saying that, I know I used to refer to everything as 'brilliant' but I really mean it about that name. It was a brilliant choice," he stopped talking, realizing that he was babbling. He handed the slip of paper with John's name on it to Rose before scrawling the name on a second piece of paper.

Rose looked at the piece of paper in the light of her candle and felt an overwhelming sadness overtake her. "Oh John," she whispered, her throat feeling dry and a bit stiff as the words escaped.

The Doctor cleared his throat "Now, you and I take turns saying something about John," he instructed. There was silence between them for a full minute before the Doctor spoke again "Do you want me to go first?"

Rose nodded quickly "Please," she whispered tightly.

The Doctor took a deep breath. He focused his eyes on his candle's flame and began "John, you were… well I suppose you were like a brother, not a twin brother exactly, well maybe for a little while anyway…" he trailed off. He felt unbelievably awkward but he had to do this. He and Rose both needed closure. He needed this to help reconcile all the memories in his head "I didn't get to know the man you became except through the memories you gave me. Thank you for those memories and I am so sorry that I couldn't save your life," he turned to Rose "Your turn," he whispered before turning away from her to wipe the moisture from his eyes.

Rose took a deep, steadying breath and focused on the flame of her candle just as the Doctor had done "John," she began in a whisper "You comforted me on the beach when the Doctor left us behind. At first it was hard for me to accept you but it didn't take long for you to become my best friend," she closed her eyes briefly and took another deep breath as tears began to fall "And so much more. And you gave your life for me… I… I love you with all my heart and I always will…"

"Now we use our candles to burn the paper," the Doctor told her.

Rose held the paper up to the pink flame of her candle and it was consumed almost instantly.

"_Rose_," the voice was familiar and inside her head "_Rose, I love you too. Please be happy my love. My brother needs you to save him from himself and from the coming danger…_"

"John," Rose murmured. She turned in shock to face the Doctor.

"The paper's psychic," the Doctor explained "Every person who burns a slip of paper gets a final message from the departed."

"I wish you'd told me that before I did it," Rose snapped at him "It would have been nice to know what was about to happen before the voice of one of the men I love popped into my head and scared me out of my skin."

"Rose," the Doctor tried to calm her down but he realized she was right "Sorry," he shrugged.

Rose couldn't help but smile "Well, it was a nice surprise," she murmured before noticing the paper that the Doctor was still holding "Well, go on then," she urged.

The Doctor looked hesitantly at the paper. What was John going to tell him that the Doctor himself didn't already know from John's memories? He looked back up at Rose who was staring impatiently at him.

"We don't have all day," she told him, beginning to tap her foot on the floor "Amy and Rory will eventually wake up and wonder where we've gone off to."

The Doctor nodded and fed the paper into the candle's flame. He braced himself against what he knew was coming.

"_Shadows,_" the voice began "_Darkness and shadows and fear… It's not over, not yet… Protect her for both of us…_"

The Doctor shook his head at the vague message. He wasn't sure what John meant when he said that it wasn't over but there would almost certainly be danger ahead for him and Rose. There was always was danger. At least the message hadn't been something about Rose dying in battle. That was something to be thankful for.

"What do we do next?" Rose asked. This was by far the oddest and yet the most comforting funeral she'd been to in her life.

"We cross our candle flames," the Doctor told her, moving his candle nearer to hers.

Rose tilted her candle so the pink flame met the green one. Gold sparks erupted from both flames as they grew and swirled together. Just as Rose was about to ask what was going on, one final message from John popped into both their heads.

"Bad Wolf."


	3. Chapter 3: Traitor of Traitors

**Dark Land of the Renegades**

**Chapter 3: Traitor of Traitors**

**A/N: So I've put the reposting of this chapter off for long enough. I was hoping I'd be a little further along with chapter four before I reposted chapter three but this will have to do. This chapter took me forever to figure out and I'm not even 100% on it even now. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know as I have wrestled with this for days.**

**Dedications: A Who Down In Whoville for all her support and her kind review asking people to review my story. Everyone who hasn't read her story "Charade" is really missing out on a gem of Doctor Who Fanfiction and all of you who haven't reviewed said story should really do so. Never has an author handled character development and drama with such flare and balanced it so well with romance.**

The light from the candles flashed brightly, illuminating the entire room before the fire extinguished completely, leaving the room bathed in the relatively dim light given off by the fixtures over their heads. The pair stood in silence for a long moment. Rose set her candle on the table and turned her gaze to meet the Doctor's "Was that, was that supposed to happen?" she asked.

"Which part?" the Doctor asked. He was still a little stunned himself over what had just occurred.

"Any of it," Rose replied "The sparks, the flash… 'Bad Wolf'."

"No," the Doctor responded, reaching out and grasping Rose's hand "Not as far as I know and I do know most things," he couldn't help a smug little smile which he hoped would somehow reassure Rose.

It didn't work. Rose stared wide eyed at him before turning away towards the door of the small room "Amy and Rory will be wondering where we are," she remarked.

When she exited the room with the Doctor just a step behind her she found that in addition to the Sister who had welcomed them and given them their candles, there were now four others standing with her. The five women all gazed in awe at Rose before they bowed to her.

"What?" Rose asked in confusion.

The Sister who had welcomed them stepped forward and smiled softly at Rose "We have seen the flames," she said simply.

The Doctor stepped forward so that he was slightly in front of Rose. He turned his head slightly to explain to her "The Sisters are telepathic psychics," he explained.

"You mean they've been reading our minds this entire time?" Rose's question was whispered rapidly.

"No," the Sister standing in front of them assured her "We do not read the minds of those who come here to mourn but we can sense what the flames tell us about that person. And what the soul of the departed wishes us to know."

"Wow," Rose murmured, tilting her head in the Doctor's direction so that he would hear her more clearly "That's a bit creepy isn't it?"

The Doctor nodded slightly but kept his eyes on the Sister "What did the flames tell show you?" he questioned.

The Sister closest to them clasped one of the Doctor's hands in her hand and took one of Rose's hands in her other "A great journey lies ahead of you dears," she whispered, bringing their hands together "Great danger awaits…" she trailed off eyeing them both "The outcome is unclear."

Another Sister stepped forward "May the Fates be with you," she said, raising a hand and sprinkling a handful of silvery dust over the two Rose looked questioningly at the Doctor but before he could reply the Sister spoke "Fear not my dear, it is a blessing from the Sisters of Heneva. The dust is harmless," she smiled kindly "But if you do not believe me I am sure the Doctor can tell you the same thing."

"No, no, I believe you," Rose murmured.

The Sisters parted, allowing Rose and the Doctor to leave. The Sister who had blessed them along with a younger looking member of the order followed them out of the cathedral.

"Doctor," the elder of the two alien women called out. He stopped walking and turned to her "Please allow Novice Zanitha with you."

The younger member of the order, a woman with silver skin like all the other sisters but dressed in a less constrictive, knee length purple robe and having very curly, very pink, hair running down to the middle of her back, stepped forward and extended her hand "The flames foretold that you would need my assistance."

Rose smiled at the Novice who looked to be a few years younger than she herself was before taking her hand and shaking it. She looked to the Doctor "Who are we to disagree with the flames?" she asked with a bit of a grin.

The Doctor grumbled something under his breath but shrugged in resignation. He could sense the danger that was approaching and he knew that they could use the Novice's abilities. He opened the TARDIS doors and smiled at Zanitha "Welcome aboard."

At the same moment that the group entered the TARDIS Amy was just coming down the stairs with John in her arms, followed closely by Rory. The pair looked a bit frazzled. Amy, to her credit, was able to manage a smile at the newcomer.

"Everything alright Amy?" Rose asked, noticing the other woman's appearance "I thought that you lot were asleep."

"We were," Rory commented "Unfortunately John didn't want to stay asleep."

The Doctor couldn't help chuckling at that. "He seems perfectly fine now," he remarked.

"Because I'm holding him," Amy retorted "If I put him down he'll start crying."

"Oh come now," the Doctor grinned, reaching out and taking the baby from Amy "Are you causing trouble for your mummy and daddy? Being a little attention getter?"

The infant wrapped one of his small hands around the Doctor's index finger and cooed.

"Oh," Zanitha cooed over the little one "He's an absolute angel," she looked to Amy "May I hold him?"

Amy took her son back from the Doctor's arms. The Doctor didn't fail to miss the look on Amy's face as she eyed the pink haired woman. He smiled reassuringly "It's alright," he told her.

Amy carefully laid the baby in Zanitha's waiting arms "You have to support his head," she warned, hovering near the newcomer as he held the child.

"He's so small," Zanitha said in awe "I've never seen a human baby before."

"How did you know he's human?" Rose questioned "Nobody ever said what species any of us were."

"Oh, sorry," Zanitha's silver skin tinged an odd orange, the Henevaian equivalent of blushing "As a Novice, my abilities are still rather unrefined. I can sense thoughts from people without wanting to. Somehow I just sensed that Amy and Rory were human and so is John..." she trailed off as all the eyes in the room focused on her "Oh, I sensed their names from you Rose when we entered the TARDIS… I'm really trying to control my telepathic powers but sometimes these things just happen. I mean, I've been in training for twelve years now and I've got control over my psychic imagery but the telepathy is hard to master. Don't worry though," she was babbling now "If you really don't want me to sense it, I usually can't," she turned to Amy and Rory, the orange tint of her cheeks deepening "Oh, I didn't even tell you my name," she laughed nervously "Usually the sisters just communicate their names telepathically so that even a sister who isn't attempting to read the thought can sense it, but humans aren't telepathic are they," she laughed again and looked to Rose and the Doctor for help.

The Doctor came to her aid "Amy, Rory, this is Novice Zanitha of the Order of the Sisters of Heneva. She's going to be traveling with us for a while."

XXX

Essence was busy imputing calculations into the ship's navigational computer while Absolute reconfigured the ship's weapons to fire a beam of concentrated energy that would open a whole back into their home universe. The tear would only last a matter of seconds before it resealed (if they had had more of that energy that had been bouncing around the Void earlier they could have made it permanent and bridged straight through the Void to another universe, connecting the two).

"Check the propulsion systems," Absolute ordered almost off handedly as she worked on the weapons "We want to make sure we shoot through at high enough speed that we don't get sucked right back in."

"As soon as I'm done here," Essence replied with some reluctance. Absolute could be quite unpleasant if her orders were were not obeyed immediately.

"Of course," Absolute remarked with a quick shake of her head before returning her full attention to her work.

Essence sighed in relief as she returned to her calculations. A minute passed before she decided to speak again "When we get back to our home universe," she began, a bit hesitantly "Do you suppose that perhaps we might visit Gallifray?"

"Why would you want to do a thing like that?" Absolute asked in a rather dry tone.

"Well, it has been four hundred years since we've seen our home world," Essence remarked "It would be nice to stand on familiar soil for a change…"

Absolute put down what she was doing and stood to her full height, facing Essence squarely "The people of that world took up arms against us. They are the reason we've spent so much time stranded in that awful place, without our comrades to aid us. As far as we are concerned, we have no home world." Her words were harst, commanding, biting, their tone told Essence to drop the subject immediately.

Absolute returned to her work. Essence did not know of Gallifrey's distruction and that was the way Absolute planeed to keep it for now. Essence was a soft touch. She had been a mere girl when the Warlord had brought her to their group. He'd found the budding mathematician at the Academy. She'd been top of her class when he'd recruited her.

Absolute remembered the first time she'd met the girl. Idealistic, hopeful and not at all like the rest of them. But she'd learned, she'd learned to be hard. But even after four hundred years of having Essence as her constant companion, Absolute knew that the woman was not to be trusted and if given a chance, she could easily be swayed against them.

"Propulsion systems are operating at peek efficiency," Essence reported a few minutes later "There is a ninety-nine point nine five percent chance of clearing the Void completely before retroclosure."

"Well done," Absolute praised while at the same time eyeing the other Time Lady suspiciously. Essence did not notice her superior's gaze. "Inform the Eminence that we will be departing soon. I'll be on the bridge. I expect to see you there in ten minutes."

Essence rose and headed to the infirmary where the Eminence continued his efforts to gleam information from the Admiral's damaged brain. As she walked through the corridors of the ship she found her mind wandering. These past four hundred years had been horrible, being away from her home and the family she so desperately missed. The Warlord had been like a father to her though and she had been eager to please him.

But when the Warlord had been murdered it seemed as though a fog had been lifted. She could see how terrible Absolute was and spending the past fifty years with her as company had been complete and utter misery. She'd desperately hoped that when they were finally reunited with the others that they would not prove to be as horrid as Absolute. From what she'd learned about the Eminence and the Admiral since reuniting with them, it seemed as though that was not the case.

She arrived at the infirmary to find the Eminence growling in frustration, the Admiral's face tightly gripped in his hands "Tell me more about the Doctor," he commaned harshly.

"Sir," Essence cleared her throat softly.

"What is it?" the Eminence snapped, rounding on her, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Absolute says we're ready to leave," Essence replied.

"Very good," the Eminence uttered gruffly as he headed for the doors to the infirmary "I'll join her on the bridge. You stay here and keep an eye on him," he gestured to the Admiral's prone form.

"Sir, you will need me," Essence attempted to object.

"Not if you did your calculations properly I won't," he growled at her before leaving a very stunned and confused Essence standing beside the Admiral's bed.

After a moment Essence took a seat and watched the Admiral's face for some time. His eyes opened a bit and he shot her a half smile "Traitor," he grinned at her "You will betray us all… If you even knew…" he began to chuckle "Oh I remember you Tau."

Essence's mouth dropped open at the sound of her real name, the name that would have been erased from all history on Gallifrey after her betrayal became known. She leaned forward and listened as he continued to speak.

"Seventeen years old… And such promise… The Warlord, he knew… he knew we needed you… But he never trusted you…" the Admiral's weak laughter intensified.

XXX

"She cannot be trusted," the Eminence told Absolute as he took his place in Essence's seat "The Warlord was the only one of us who could control her. With Incubus still trapped in another universe her true self will return if it hasn't already."

"I've kept a close watch on her these past fifty years," Absolute told the Eminence as she stroked his shoulder "The changes have been minimal."

"Perhaps, but our return to the universe of her birth may stir things that the Warlord had buried long ago," the Eminence informed her.

"Perhaps she should be dealt with?" Absolute suggested. It was not a new thought. Absolute had been debating on and off since the Warlord's death of disposing of her comrade but she allowed her companion to live as loneliness was not a welcome alternative.

"Not just yet," Eminence murmured as he activated the weapons system and sliced through the fabric of reality. The hot white beam made quick work of the stuff of the universe and a jagged circle of starry sky appeared. Without hesitation the ship shot through the whole just as it sealed behind them.

"She might still prove useful to us," the Eminence concluded as he turned to Absolute for a celebratory kiss. They had arrived in their home universe and now woe be to the Doctor and any others who dare oppose them.

XXX

The Doctor felt a shudder run through him. He recognized the feeling. It was the same feeling he'd had before, just before that business with the Cybermen and the Daleks, and Torchwood and…

"Everything alright?" Rose asked, scooting closer to him. She looked at him questioningly as she waited patiently for an answer.

He nodded, not wanting to tell her just yet. It seemed like the predictions of the Sisters of Heneva were coming true. He draped an arm over her shoulders and smiled "Things couldn't get any better than they are right now," he told her. And it wasn't a complete lie. He was with Rose, things really couldn't get any better than that in his mind.

Well, things could be better if he didn't have that aforementioned feeling of impending doom. He stood up suddenly and turned to leave the small sitting room that he and Rose had discovered half way between their two rooms in the TARDIS.

Rose looked up at him "Where you going?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I'll be back in a little bit," he promised her "Just gotta check something in the console room."

Rose nodded, seeming to accept his explanation before shifting on the sofa so that her feet occupied the space where he had previously been sitting. She attempted to stifle a yawn and smiled "See you in a little while," she replied.

The Doctor quickly found his way to the console room to discover Zanitha standing in the middle of the room, her hands held out in front of her in prayer. When she heard him approaching she turned "You felt it too," she stated.

"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.

Zanitha brought her hands to rest by her sides. Her eyes slid closed and she breathed out a deep sigh before she opened her eyes again to stare off into space. Her lips parted and she spoke in a far off sounding voice "It has begun."

**A/N: So what has begun? You'lll see… Please review as the more difficult this story becomes to write, the more my muse demands sustenance.**


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